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No, the So-Called Trump Lumber Tariffs Will Not Threaten the Us Housing Recovery
We have received a slew of media inquires in the past week from reporters who were pushing the following storylines:
1. Donald Trump’s tariffs on lumber have caused prices to surge from about $300 per thousand board feet (MBF) to more than $600 per MBF.
2. Surging building materials prices pose a potentially mortal threat to the US housing recovery.
Our short responses to these storylines are as follows 1) that ain’t necessarily so, and 2) that’s hogwash.
The Difference Between Consumption and Apparent Consumption
There are several different ways to calculate consumption. Some calculate consumption as shipments plus imports minus exports. Others look at production plus imports minus exports. However, neither of these methods takes inventory swings into account.